Original Date: 06/05/2006
Revision Date: / /

Rockwell Collins has set into motion a strategic energy management plan and has realized benefits to its business performance, focusing on demand-side service with its partner Siemens Building Technologies. To date $440,000 in annual savings have been realized, and this approach is continually being augmented and rolled into forward- focused projects such as the construction of the fast-tracked B130 Engineering and Lab Building at the company’s Cedar Rapids facility.

Rockwell Collins has focused on strategy-energy management. Prior to 2004 energy was not considered a strategic resource, but conditions soon changed that outlook. With the demand for energy growing at a rate of 2% annually, it has become the facilities’ third-largest operating expense. Deregulation made energy more difficult to manage, and environmental issues were impacting the “how-when-what” type of energy to use.

Faced with mounting energy issues, Rockwell Collins initiated the Strategic Energy Management Plan (Figure 2-6) with four elements that included utility information services, strategic supply services, demand-side services, and value-added business solutions. The plan would define objectives and establish a team, plan and prioritize, implement services and continual measurement, and establish quarterly program analysis meetings to review changing energy patterns. Management oversight was included to assure continuous improvement.

Within utility information services, the specifics of enterprise reporting, statement scrutiny, tariff rate validation, and metering levels were optimized. Strategic supply services drove at competitively bidding natural gas and electricity wherever possible along with performing a risk/reward analysis on predictability of energy costs. Value-added business solutions are still being explored but relate to performance contracting.

Demand-side services constitute the bulk of energy reductions for Rockwell Collins. Through a joint initiative with Siemens Building Technologies, Rockwell Collins implemented several actions to reduce demand that include cooling tower water-deduct meters, vacuum-variable frequency drives on assembly motors, chiller plant automation, high-performance valves, and flow meters with automated control panels. Performance-based rebates with local electrical providers were also enacted. Monetary savings were realized based on energy efficiency to known standards.

Energy efficiency has been realized in “green design” through Rockwell Collins’ pursuit of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. This approach optimizes indoor environmental quality, conservation of materials and resources, safeguarding water and water efficiency, sustainable site planning, and energy efficiency.

The benefit to Rockwell Collins as this strategy is deployed is improvement projects that save more than $440,000 annually and new construction techniques that are 51% better than benchmarked American Society of Heating and Refrigerating Engineers standards.

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